Red Eagle Powwow held in McDonald
MCDONALD — Kristi Duffy didn’t know the journey on which discovering her family history would take her.
She and her mother, Glory Roman, were researching their genealogy when they discovered they had American Indian ancestry which had been obscured.
“A lot of people hid it for several reasons,” she said. “People were scared.”
Pennsylvania had laws on the books until the 20th century offering bounties on American Indian scalps and American Indian children were frequently seized by the federal government and sent to schools where they were punished for speaking their language or practicing their religion and forced to dress in European-style clothing.
The two began attending powwows after learning about their Shawnee heritage and Duffy took the name “Eerie Cat.” Following a powwow, Duffy was invited to try drumming, and she was hooked. A friend constructed a drum for her from buffalo hide and reclaimed wood, and it was christened the Shawnee Heart.
“It is a long, involved process,” she said of the drum construction, which include ceremonial aspects.
The Shawnee Heart drum appears annually at a few area powwows, although Duffy expressed the desire to attend more if able. The Shawnee Heart drum performed at the Red Eagle Village Powwow Sept. 17-18 at the Heritage Park in McDonald.
Drums are sacred and covered when not in use. Tobacco, considered a sacred medicine, devotion or offering, can be sprinkled around the drum. Each drum is opened, or the performance begun, with at least four singers and drummers, who represent several concepts in American Indian beliefs, including the four cardinal directions and the four elements.
“The drums carry the songs to Creator,” she said.
Songs can cover a variety of purposes, from war songs to prayer to telling stories. Songs are passed down orally and must be memorized. Duffy estimated she has completely memorized about two score songs and knew another three dozen well enough to perform.
“Our history is an oral history,” she said.
Some songs are specific to particular drums or particular American Indian tribes and others may not perform those songs unless they are given as a gift. Drummers compose songs and gift them to other drums.
Shawnee Heart was the host drum, and White Buffalo and the world-renowned Clearwater drums were the guest drums. Spirit Wolf was the master of ceremonies. Golden Butterfly was the head female dancer, and Van Pelt was the head male dancer. Red Bear was the head veteran.
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